ONGC – The Untold Story’ launched

The eagerly awaited book ‘ONGC – The Untold Story’ written by the senior journalist Raj Kanwar was launched on Sunday in Dehradun. The book talks about the stepping stones of ONGC, the difficulties faced by the company and the valuable efforts put in by the founder K D Malaviya. The book is filled with intriguing anecdotes and unknown facts about the changing shades of ONGC and how it affected the city’s economy, said the organisers of the launching event.

Rohan Raj and Neha Raj, the co-founders of the Booknerds, introduced the writer to the audience. Later, Raj Kanwar talked about how the book had come about. He mentioned that he has been reading and writing for years and this book essentially is an amalgamation of the many articles authored by him, especially on the history of ONGC. He also said that articles do not have a lasting effect unless they are reproduced in the form of a book. He was then asked to comment how the city changed. He said that changes were for the good of the people. “Dehradun at that time was in a bad shape. Unemployment was high and there was not much development either. After 1956 when ONGC was established Dehradun’s economy changed overnight,” he said. Next question which came up was why Dehradun, in particular, was chosen to be ONGC’s headquarters. He informed that there were various reasons for it apart from its being Jawaharlal Nehru and Maalviya’s favorite destination. “ Delhi was overcrowded. The book contains a whole chapter dedicated to this particular question. He also dwelt on the influx of the Bengalis with the setting up of ONGC and the associated development of Bengali culture in the region. He also shared a little connection of Doon’s famous Bengali sweet shop with it.